The ratings on the country's second-largest bank, Krung Thai Bank (KTB), reflects the stabilization in the bank's stand-alone financial profile, underpinned largely by the transfer of impaired loans to the government's asset management companies. Supporting the ratings is its quasi-public policy role on the expectation that KTB will continue to provide credits in support of government-endorsed projects and to state-owned enterprises. A lesser degree of implied benefit arising from its state ownership has been factored into the ratings, given the potential privatization of the bank. If the government seeks to privatize KTB, the implied benefit arising from state-ownership can be expected to diminish over time. The assessment emphasis is likely to shift to the bank's own financial measures and ability
